Just By Chance
by Little Creek
Summary: Flynn Rider hadn't always been a thief. But then he met the Stabbington brothers. How far will Flynn go to protect his nose?
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer: once again, I do not own Tangled. I simply own a Tangled DVD and my own (possibly over-active!) imagination.**

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><p><span>PROLOGUE <span>

Flynn Rider hadn't always been a thief. No, but alone in the world it became rather necessary. At first, it was simple. He only took food, and just enough to keep him going, nothing more. Until he met up with the Stabbington brothers. It had been merely by accident that he had bumped into them – literally. And they didn't take too kindly to being bumped into. Before he knew it, Flynn was in big trouble. He'd made a deal with them, to save his nose from getting rammed.

"Don't fail, Rider. Or we will _delight_ in bashing your face in."

Then he was on his own again.

It was Flynn Rider the thief that ran through the forest the next day, carrying a satchel containing his trophy from his raid. Food was old-style now – he'd stolen his first bag of money. With guards hot on his trail, he had taken to the forest. It had been so easy to sneak in, take the bag, and then saunter away. If only that white horse hadn't chosen that moment to neigh, catching the attention of the guards. Flynn might have gotten away if it had stayed quiet! But the guards recognized him at once and the chase was on. Now, as he dashed through the forest, he wondered if this was a good idea after all.

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><p><strong>AN: Ok, I need 3 reviews or I won't continue this story! **


	2. Chapter 1

**A/N: big thanks to my reviewer 101Witch101! Yes, I know I said I needed 3 reviews, but I love this story so I'm continuing anyway. I've given the Stabbington brothers some random names too.**

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><p><span>CHAPTER ONE<span>

"I got it!"

Flynn threw the bag down on the table and waited tensely. Gordon **(A/N: guy with eye-patch) **raised an eyebrow, and grabbed the bag. Bruce looked over his brother's shoulder, his eyes suspicious.

"Not bad," he said gruffly.

He actually looked somewhat satisfied. Flynn relaxed a little. This hadn't been as bad as he'd expected.

"Well, it was nice meeting you, boys," he said, turning to leave.

Suddenly he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Wait a minute, Rider. You're not finished yet."

Flynn didn't like the smirk on Bruce's lips. "What now?"

"I don't think that's quite enough. Get some more."

Flynn shook his head.

"No way. I'm not risking my life again. Get your own money."

Bruce glanced back at Gordon, who made a punching motion with his left hand. Flynn stepped back.

"Hey, come on, be reasonable! We can work something out, right? Guys?"

Bruce grabbed Flynn's shirt collar and nearly yanked him off his feet.

"Get us some more money, kid," he snarled.

He let Flynn go with a shove. Flynn sighed in resignation.

"Alright, I'll do it."

"Good boy."

The evil grins the brothers shared sent shivers down Flynn's spine. He turned quickly and went out the door. _What have I got myself in to? _He walked off towards the town, feeling rather miserable.

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><p><strong>AN: I wrote this chapter in a bit of a hurry, so if it sounds a bit off that'll be why! Anyway, as always I want more reviews! - ok, I've fixed up the paragraph formatting the best I could, and I'll try to make the next chapters longer! Thanks for the tip FFww2reviewerJC!**


	3. Chapter 2

CHAPTER TWO

Flynn Rider was _not _happy. He'd spent a full day on the run, from that infuriating, ever-watchful white horse and his rider, neither of which seemed to care about the rain. Flynn, though, _did _care about the rain. He'd left the guard behind at last, and, inwardly cursing the Stabbington brothers for getting him into this mess, had found that he was all out of food. And now campfire he usually had about this time of night refused to burn in the rain. So he was cold, hungry, and wet. And very grumpy.

"If only I'd just left the kingdom," he snarled to himself, "Run away to some far off place, buy my own island, and then there'd be no more running from mad horses in the rain."

Lightning flashed and Flynn shivered. Was it really worth the effort all for the Stabbingtons? That was really dumb. But no, it wasn't just for them. It was for his nose. He couldn't even remember a time when he wasn't trying to protect his nose. Since he took to the streets at just 14, he'd always been in trouble. First of all he'd tried to get a job. Nobody wanted an orphan, who, as well as needing pay for his work, required a place to stay. So he'd become a thief. He asked himself often if it was worth it – a meager loaf of bread in exchange for a mad dash across the kingdom? But he didn't really have a choice. Just like now.

"That does it. I'm going to tell them I'm not doing it anymore."

But he'd get beaten up – punched, slugged, kicked, and thumped, whatever the brothers felt like doing to him. Flynn had never been much of a fighter. He didn't even like slugging people, relying mostly on avoiding fights completely. Besides, he'd seen many a man with a broken nose after a brawl. He had no choice – he had to keep bringing money for the Stabbingtons or have his own nose broken.

"Sometimes I wonder if my nose is really this important…"

**A/N: this was not as long as I'd hoped, but the next chapter will have some action and should be better!**


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